COVID-19

What can I say? This is a desperately sad situation across the world, with all its direct and indirect effects.

Dassett Eventing will strictly follow the UK government’s guidelines. Personal opinion will vary widely regarding what should be done, what shouldn’t be done, etc.  I believe we need to trust in what is asked of us and not just to look at our immediate surroundings in this scary time.  The precautions are not simply to protect ourselves – we have a social responsibility to protect the most vunerable in our community, for whom this disease is a matter of life and death.

All of Dassett Eventing’s employees are following strict guidelines I laid out yesterday. Owners are still welcome at DEHQ as long as they comply to the  steps and precautions we have in place. We are currently closed to clients wishing to view horses and closed for facility hire. Craig and Hayley are still teaching under strict guidelines.

We are planning to set up a rota to rotate the horses on a mini break programme. This has the aim of preventing the horses getting too fresh or bored during the months ahead.

Over the coming days, I will assess the blanket shut down on horse viewings and arena hire, but I’m aware the UK government’s guidelines are only likely to get more restrictive. If there is a way I can open either service safely, I will do, but a solution is not currently clear to me.

I am so sorry for the disruption any of the changes to our services may cause. However, I’m sure you fully understand I have a duty of care to those at Dassett Eventing and I feel an overwhelming sense of duty to the wider community, especially to those most vulnerable.

I have allowed us all until Monday to feel generally pants on so many levels about this and what lies ahead. However, come Monday I will administer a huge kick up my own backside, and in turn to the rest of the team’s backsides, and get planning a training programme for the horses, staff and wider team. I will also get my thinking cap on for ways we can still manage to have some Dassett fun whilst remaining safe and following all guidelines…

If anyone would like a copy of our Covid-19 policy, dated 17th March 2020, I am happy to e-mail it across to you.  It goes without saying, these are likely to change over the coming days and weeks.